Optimized directional antenna system

Abstract

A method of operating a wireless access point having a configurable antenna system includes determining a transmission signal quality metric for a first station with the configurable antenna system in a first configuration, determining a transmission signal quality metric for a second station with the configurable antenna system in the first configuration, determining a transmission signal quality metric for a first station with the configurable antenna system in a second configuration, determining a transmission signal quality metric for a second station with the configurable antenna system in the second configuration, determining a viable set of antenna configurations for which the signal quality metric of each of the stations meets a minimum criteria and configuring the configurable antenna system to a configuration in the viable set when the wireless access point is not transmitting.

1 . A method of operating a wireless access point having a configurable antenna system, comprising:
 determining a transmission signal quality metric for a first station with the configurable antenna system in a first configuration;   determining a transmission signal quality metric for a second station with the configurable antenna system in the first configuration;   determining a transmission signal quality metric for a first station with the configurable antenna system in a second configuration;   determining a transmission signal quality metric for a second station with the configurable antenna system in the second configuration;   determining a viable set of antenna configurations for which the signal quality metric of each of the stations meets a minimum criteria; and   configuring the configurable antenna system to a configuration in the viable set when the wireless access point is not transmitting.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising configuring the configurable antenna system to a configuration in the viable set when the wireless access point is transmitting. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  wherein determining a transmission signal quality metric for a first station comprises sending a polling request to the first station. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  wherein determining a transmission signal quality metric for a first station comprises sending a polling request to the first station. 
     
     
         5 . A wireless access point comprising:
 a configurable antenna system capable of being be selectively configured to create different antenna configurations in response to control signals;   a radio sub-system in communication with the configurable antenna system and configured to transmit and receive radio signals to and from the configurable antenna system; and   an antenna controller in communication with the configurable antenna system and configured to
 receive a signal quality metric for a plurality of stations with the configurable antenna system in a first configuration, 
 determine a transmission signal quality metric for a the plurality of stations with the configurable antenna system in a second configuration, 
 determine a viable set of antenna configurations for the plurality of stations, the viable set being the set of antenna configurations in which the signal quality metric of each of the plurality of stations meets a minimum criteria, and 
 transmit control signals to the configurable antenna system to cause the configurable antenna system to be in a configuration in the viable set when the wireless access point is not transmitting. 
   
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 5  wherein the antenna controller is further configured to transmit control signals to the configurable antenna system to cause the configurable antenna system to be in a configuration in the viable set which has the highest values of the transmission signal quality metric for the station to which the wireless access point is transmitting. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 5  wherein the radio sub-system comprises a plurality of radios and the configurable antenna system comprises a plurality of configurable antennas with each of the plurality of radios being coupled to one of the plurality of configurable antennas. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 7  further comprising a signal processing module in communication with the plurality of radios and the antenna controller and configured to provide a signal quality metric for the plurality of stations.